Housing develops for Okanagan Indian Band members

Several housing opportunities are being built for Okanagan Indian Band members.

The OKIB has six new homes being constructed through its Social Housing Program, and it is also seeking land owners to assist with further builds.

The Pebble Park development is underway, building six brand new homes for six families at Pebble Park Lane at Six Mile Creek. The deadline to apply is May 1, 2020.

“This is a great opportunity for six families and it is also a victory for OKIB to have this additional inventory of much-needed houses on reserve,” said Chief Byron Louis. “And we intend on continuing to seek additional funding for more housing.”

The terms of rental include reasonable rents of $925 per month for a three-bedroom house and $1,025 for a four-bedroom house. These rates are subject to change but the final rental rates will reflect good value in the housing market.

The OKIB is also seeking land owners interested in a program with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The program provides funding for non-profit rental housing projects in First Nation communities.

Those who own their own lots and are interested have until May 10, 2020 to apply.

The section 95 program has a few requirements:

• The program is open to all OKIB members who are certificate of possession holders.

• The lot must be surveyed and registered with Canada Lands in the applicant’s name.

• The applicant must be willing to transfer the lot into the Band’s name for the life of the operating agreement (typically 25 years).

• All lots must be unencumbered (available), ready for construction and serviced with water, sewer (or septic), electricity and road access by the end of construction.

• Construction to start within six months of final commitment approval.

• NB: The maximum CMHC subsidy in 2019 was $260,000 (for a completed and fully-serviced house).

Those interested should complete the Rent-to-Own application and the CMHC EOI 2020 application and submit them to martina.lewis@okanagan.org.